Monday, November 13, 2017

Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright {Review}

Ever since Emma read Pride and Prejudice, she's been in love with Mr. Darcy and has regarded Jane Austen as the expert on all things romantic. So naturally when Emma falls for Blake Hampton and he invites her home to meet his parents, she is positive an engagement is in her future. After all, Blake is a single man in possession of a good fortune, and thus must be in want of a wife.

But when it turns out that what Blake actually wants is more of a hook-up than a honeymoon, Emma is hurt, betrayed, and furious. She throws herself deeper into her work as CMO of Kinetics, the fastest growing gym franchise in the nation. She loves her work, and she's good at it, which is why she bristles when her boss brings in a consultant to help her spearhead the new facilities on the East Coast. Her frustration turns to shock when that consultant turns out to be Blake's younger brother, Lucas.

Emma is determined not to fall for Lucas, but as she gets to know him, she realizes that Lucas is nothing like his brother. He is kind and attentive and spends his time and money caring for the less fortunate.

What she can't understand is why Lucas continues to try to push her back into Blake's arms when he so clearly has fallen as hard for her as she has fallen for him. It isn't until Lucas reveals to Emma that he was adopted into the Hampton family that she begins to understand his loyalty to Blake as well as his devotion to the child April-she is Lucas's biological niece.

Emma opens up to Lucas about the feelings of abandonment she has harbored ever since she was a child and her mother left the family. As she helps Lucas deal with his past demons, she is able to exorcise some of her own.

Realizing that her love life is as complicated as anything Jane Austen could have dreamed up, Emma must find a way to let Blake know that it's time for him to let her go and to let Lucas know it's time for him to love her back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My Review: 5 Stars

I'm a big Jane Austen fan and a complete romantic at heart. I love the way that Julie Wright brings such a beloved classic to a contemporary light and gives this age-old story a slightly new twist. By doing so, my heart was happy because I could feel the comfort of an old familiar favorite but the exhilarating freshness was something new.

Have you ever taken someone's words as law and then been disappointed when it turns out they weren't as magical as you thought they were? That's kind of what happens to Emma. She is a great character, let me just say. On one hand, she's very competent and strong, but on the other hand, she only needs to be loved and when her boyfriend, Blake, disillusions her with his fishy ways, she goes as far as to renounce Jane Austen. *gasp!* The cast of characters is pleasurable and I loved getting to know Lucas, Blake's brother, better, especially as he's thrown together with Emma through their jobs. In fact, I daresay that Lucas's vague persistence nearly made me swoon a few times.

This story really resonated with me and I adored it all. The middle portion was slightly slower, but I honestly couldn't read it quickly enough. I especially loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Sometimes hard things happen to great people and I love how both Emma and Lucas are able to triumph over their pasts. This is a great read for any Austen lover.

Content: mild romance

*I received a copy, which had no influence on my thoughts and opinions.*